Aldebrandus or Aldebrand ( it, Aldebrando di Fossombrone), also known as Hildebrand (1119–30 April 1219), was a

Bishop of Fossombrone The Italian Catholic diocese of Fossombrone existed in the province of Pesaro and Urbino until 1986, when it was united into the diocese of Fano-Fossombrone-Cagli-Pergola. It was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Urbino.

and a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. Aldebrandus was almost certainly born at Sorrivoli in the ''comune'' of

Roncofreddo Roncofreddo ( rgn, Runfrèd or ) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southeast of Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Fo ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was educated by the canons of Santa Maria de Porto near

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

. After being ordained to the priesthood, he was appointed provost of the chapter of Rimini Cathedral, where his bold preaching against sinful living put him at odds with those in authority. He was threatened with death and forced to flee the area. In 1170 he was appointed

, where he later had the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

built. His

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

are still there. A miracle attributed to Aldebrandus is that when he was old and bedridden, his servants brought him a cooked

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They a ...

, but as it was a fast day he was unable to eat the bird, so prayed over it, whereupon it came to life and flew away.Saint Aldebrandus of Fossombrone
Patron Saint Index His feast is celebrated at Fossombrone on 1 May, but at Sorrivoli on the second Sunday of May.

References

{{Authority control Italian Roman Catholic saints 13th-century Christian saints 1219 deaths 1119 births 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops People from the Province of Forlì-Cesena